Clinton, Edwards mix personal, political

The personal can also be political, or vice versa.

Which is one way to look at a couple of events announced today by the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Clinton, the New York senator and former First Lady who has long been about promoting women in politics, said she is launching an online effort to empower and educate young women -- and presumably win quite a few of their votes.

With the slogan, "You've Got the Vote. Use It," it is timed for Women's Equality Day on Sunday, the anniversary of the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. There are activities in the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

The initiative "will educate voters about the history of the struggle for women's suffrage, provide them with the resources to make their vote count, and inform them about Hillary's career of leadership and record as an advocate for change," the Clinton campaign said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Edwards, her Democratic rival and former North Carolina senator, said he will join seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong for a presidential cancer forum on Monday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Clinton also plans to attend the forum.)

Armstrong survived testicular cancer before returning to the highest level of bicycle racing. And Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, announced in March that she was being treated for breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in Boston just after Election Day in 2004.

"Elizabeth and I share Lance's commitment to unite people to fight cancer, invest in research, and ensure access to screening and care for every American," Edwards said in a statement provided by his campaign. "To me, this is not a political issue or a political event. It is a chance to call attention to the important cause of cancer survivorship and the obligation we all have to help people living with cancer, patients, survivors, and the families of those touched by cancer."

The statement then goes on to claim that Edwards is "the only candidate with a plan for true, universal health care."